Letters to the editor, July 15

Published
4:00 am PDT, Friday, July 15, 2011

Renting to felons?

The proposal to force apartment owners to rent to ex-felons ("S.F.'s latest cause: stopping discrimination against felons," Matier & Ross, July 13) is yet another example of liberals trying to control other people's property.

If the liberals want ex-felons to have places to live, they can buy the buildings, advertise "We rent to ex-felons" and put their own assets at risk, rather than putting others' assets at risk.

Endangered: Me

I seriously think native San Franciscans over age 40 should be made a protected class. We're being priced out, our parking spaces are being parklet-ed, and the term "Frisco" has become acceptable to many of our young.

We're an endangered species, and we're much more fun than the snowy plover.

That's more than the salary of the chief justice and the House speaker and equivalent to that of President Obama.

Do these "public servants" have such an important job that they require salaries greater than the leaders of America? Does their job carry so much work and stress that they must fuel it with more and more money from taxpayers who are suffering from the budget cuts? Oh, and don't forget, it's these taxpayers who have to pay the higher tuition they just approved.

Brian Chu, San Francisco

Can I afford college? Maybe

I was shocked and worried when I heard about the rising college tuition fees in California.

College tuition goes up, but income from lower- to middle-class citizens doesn't. That is a major problem for those people who are trying to attend or who are currently attending college. Finding a part-time job isn't really a problem, but having to look for one to pay for school because of rising tuition rates is.

The increase in college tuition could discourage current or potential students from going to college. Full-time students like myself will have to find a job and diverge attention between school and work. I have to depend on my single parent for most of my transportation and school fees. Small families like mine that support their students and whose income doesn't increase will suffer as a whole. Can lower- to middle-class citizens whose families' pay doesn't increase afford college for their students?

I even noticed my financial aid getting lower, even though I receive satisfactory grades. I enjoy attending De Anza College, but when the cost per unit goes from $17 to $24 in the fall, I might bite my tongue. Thankfully the school fees in De Anza aren't as high as other schools in California.

Legal immigrants' jobs

Ruben Navarrette ignores the facts in his recent column, "Reality of the fields" (July 13).

While 24 million Americans are unemployed or underemployed, 7 million individuals work here illegally.

These jobs should go to legal workers.

We could open up millions of jobs for unemployed Americans by requiring all U.S. employers to use E-Verify.

Navarrette insinuates that illegal immigrants hold jobs that Americans won't do, such as agricultural work, but this is false. Fifty percent of U.S. agriculture jobs are held by U.S. citizens and legal immigrants.

Some growers seeking seasonal labor do face difficulty in attracting American workers, but my E-Verify bill has a longer phase-in for agriculture. And it doesn't apply to current employees, only future employees. This means that current seasonal agricultural workers can leave and return.

But farmers can obtain foreign labor legally through the H-2A guest worker program. It's true that this program needs to be reformed or replaced to better meet the needs of growers. The House Judiciary Committee already has had one hearing on the H-2A program.

Congress should pass legislation to require all U.S. employers to use E-Verify.